4-H club celebrates 80 years

LIMA TOWNSHIP  Their 4-H club is older than the Rock County 4-H Fair.

It’s older than organized 4-H.

This weekend, the members of Lima 4-H will host an open house to mark the end of a summer-long celebration of their 80th anniversary. The open house will take place at the North Lima Presbyterian Church, 9233 N. Lima Center Road.

Founded as a sewing club in 1928, the group has been a place of socializing and learning for thousands of kids in northern Rock County between the cities of Milton and Whitewater.

The Rock County 4-H Fair incorporated in 1930. That year 30 Lima 4-H members participated in the contests for calf, grains, baking, potatoes, sewing and room improvement, said club historian Amanda Kyle.

Today, the club has 47 members who participate in a variety of contests, from livestock showing competitions to cooking and engineering, Kyle said.

A program will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, and the club will serve refreshments.

The club has created a Web site, www.cis-myweb.com/lima4h, to gather photos and stories about its history. A video history of the club is available.

Lima Township resident Georgia Roe was not a member of Lima 4-H, but her kids were until the mid-1980s, she said.

“4-H just teaches kids how to win and how to lose,” Roe said. “It’s just wonderful for the kids who have an opportunity to participate.”